Shades of Wicked (Night Rebel, #1) & Wicked Bite (Night Rebel, #2) by Jeaniene Frost ~ Review

In this thrilling new Night Rebel series set in New York Times bestselling author Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress world, sexy and ruthless vampire Ian finally meets his match!

The Rule Breaker

Master vampire Ian is unrepentant, shameless…and every shade of wicked. He’s made one too many enemies in his two centuries of existence, including Dagon, a demon who now lays claim to his soul. Ian’s only chance to escape Dagon is to join forces with a Law Guardian, but he’s never been able to abide by the rules for long.

The Law Maker

Veritas’ normal role is police, judge and jury to reprobates like Ian. But she has her own ax to grind with Dagon, so if she can use Ian as bait…well, all’s fair in law and war. As they scour supernatural hotspots to perfect their trap, Veritas soon realizes Ian’s devil-may-care, roguish image hides something much more powerful. And Ian discovers that Veritas has shocking secrets of her own. As they’re drawn to each other with a passion as intense as their peril, either love or justice will prevail. But each will have devastating consequences…

Goodreads

Amazon | B&N

Okay, I have to admit it.  This is the first book I've read by this author.  I know, it's nuts.  I love paranormal.  How have I not read this author before?  In my defense, I'm not a fan of multiple books about the same couple.  And that's what the Night Huntress series looked like.  I'm more of a companion book kinda girl.  I like a couple to be wrapped up in one book.  No long term angst.  But if I'd just tired one of her books, as my friends have all told me, I'd understand.  

I finally did.  But not the first book.  Night Rebel is a spin-off series of Night Huntress.  It does contain a lot of spoilers for the original series but can certainly be read stand alone.  The world is easy to follow and I never felt lost.  I just got details of previous books.  That's okay.  I've already started reading the first book in Night Huntress.  This one was that good.  Even spoiled, I want to read the original series.

Ian.

Yeah, I can see what all the fuss is about.  He's the bad boy of this vampire world.  A man whore with some of the best one liners I've ever heard.  I admit to not being found of him in the first few  chapters.  He's a bit of a sod, as he would say.  I found myself annoyed with him.  But then I fell for him.  He's so adorable as he falls for Veritas.  And he does fall.  She may not believe it but it was clear to me.

As for Veritas, I liked her right away.  Yeah, she's a law guardian and enforces the rules but she is so much more.  She hides behind that status and it's a great place to keep her very huge secrets safe.  Both Ian and Veritas have reason to work together.  Dagon has claim on Ian's soul and Veritas has her own reasons for wanting Dagon dead.  But that demon is not so easy to kill.  These two pull out all the stops to try and kill Dagon and end up discovering some pretty hot chemistry.

The ending was a jerk.  Not really a cliff hanger but close.  I was so glad I had book two ready to pick up the story.  But it fit, this ending.  Nothing is too easy.  Doesn't matter what Veritas' secrets are or how hard Ian tries to prepare, nothing goes right.  I was left shaken at the end and applauding this author.

If you already know how good this author is, then you will definitely want to start this spin-off series.  But if you're like me and have no idea, I suggest you give it a try.  Jeaniene Frost is a master at the paranormal romance world.  I'll be reading much more of her books in the future.

                                             

In the newest Night Rebel novel, set in New York Times bestselling author Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress world, beautiful, daring vampire Veritas risks all to protect Ian...
Some promises are meant to be broken...
Veritas spent most of her life as a vampire Law Guardian. Now, she's about to break every rule by secretly hunting down the dark souls that were freed in order to save Ian. But the risks are high. For if she gets caught, she could lose her job. And catching the sinister creatures might cost Veritas her own life.

Some vows are forever...
Ian's memories might be fragmented, but this master vampire isn't about to be left behind by the woman who entranced him, bound herself to him, and then disappeared. So what if demons, other Law Guardians, and dangerous, otherworldly forces stand against them? Come hell or high water, Ian intends to remind Veritas of the burning passion between them, because she is the only person seared on his mind--and his soul...

Goodreads

Amazon | B&N

Oh my goodness, I couldn't start this book soon enough.  I was so upset about how Shades of Wicked ended.  This couple needs to be together and I was not pleased that they weren't.

Nothing went their way in the first book.  All the planning in the world still ended up blowing up in their face.  So this time, they took a different route.  Well, they did after Ian chased Veritas down and demanded she faces their relationship.  That was just adorable.  Though I will admit that I wanted to drop kick Veritas a few times.  She needs to NEVER keep a secret from Ian again.  Every time she does, it blows up in her face.  

I had no idea where this was going.  It felt like riding a roller coaster and holding on for dear life.  Again, nothing was easy for this couple.  They had a great plan but, alas, Dagon is one hard guy to kill.  I was really surprised by his last play.  And so very proud of Veritas.

I loved where this one was heading but then it took a strange turn setting up another book.  I have begun to see just have crafty this author is.  She has this couple together yet threatened by something outside of themselves.  They must work together to overcome it.  And thus I have learned that multiple books about the same couple can and do work very well.  

The good news for me, is I can go back and read all the Jeanine Frost books I've missed along the way.  See there is a happy in me thinking I didn't want to read more than one book about the same couple.  Yep.  Lots of books to dig into.

This books is amazing.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  And I'm now waiting for book three, Wicked All Night.  If you are already a Jeaniene Frost fan (how very smart of you), then don't wait on this one any longer.  It's just that good.  If you haven't read her yet, don't wait either.  Dig in, the pages are perfection.

                                             

The Sweetest Burn by Jeaniene Frost ~ Excerpt & Giveaway

Now Available from Harlequin Books

The breathtaking second novel in New York Times bestselling author Jeaniene Frost's Broken Destiny series finds Ivy and Adrian rekindling their alliance—and passion—as the struggle for the fate of the world begins…

Conquering a supernatural realm turned out to be easier than getting over a broken heart. But her initial victory has made Ivy a target for revenge, forcing her to reunite with the dangerous—and dangerously sexy—Adrian. Ivy isn't sure which will be harder: finding the hallowed weapon that will repair the crumbling walls between the demon and human realms, or resisting Adrian, who's decided that come hell or high water, he will make Ivy his.

At first, Adrian tried to resist his feelings for Ivy. Now, determined to break the curse that dooms their love, he's vowed to save her and to have her. If only he can persuade her to forgive his past sins. But defying destiny—and surrendering to the smoldering desire between them—will bring consequences and sacrifices they never imagined…

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

Connect with Jeaniene

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

I shouldn’t have taken that brief moment to celebrate. Even with a knife sticking out of his face, he was still deadly. His hands closed over my ankles, yanking hard. I lost my balance and fell backward, twisting away at once to avoid his immediate tackle. He landed on sand instead of me, but then his fists smashed into my lower body. I doubled over, feeling like I’d been hit by a truck. He held on and started to crawl up my body, his grin visible even through the streams of blood coming from where the knife stuck out of his face.

I couldn’t break his grip, so I didn’t try. When he made it up to my thigh, my knee smashed into his face with all the extra­human strength I had in me. Pain reverberated up my leg, but this time, I didn’t spare a single second before attacking again. I grabbed his head and yanked it to the side as hard as I could. A crack sounded and the minion’s whole body went limp.

I managed to roll away, my knees and ribs throbbing so much that vomiting felt like a good way to celebrate. Still, I was exultant. Looks like those fighting lessons had really paid off! In fact, Costa had trained me so well, my actions had felt more like muscle memory instead of a conscious decision to kill some­one. I had killed the minion, though, and he wasn’t the first one, although he was the first one that I’d taken on by myself with only a normal weapon.

Being a killer hadn’t been anywhere on my list of life goals six months ago, when I’d been a junior at WMU. Since then, I’d had to learn how to do that as well as do a lot of other strange, unpleasant things. Thank you, unexpected supernatural lineage. You are the gift that keeps on giving.

With a suddenness that still startled me, the minion’s body dissolved until nothing but ashes remained. They began to blow away in the same ocean breeze that whipped my hair around like dozens of dark brown scarves. The way minions and demons turned to ash after death was the only considerate thing they did.

Even though everything hurt, I heaved myself up from the sand. Bruised and battered or no, I still had to find Brutus.

I was in the process of brushing the sand off me when my surroundings changed in an instant. The sand turned to sheets of ice, the light became pitch darkness and the sounds from the surf ceased with such abruptness that the new silence was omi­nous. The worst part was the cold. My teeth began to chatter, and the frigid air felt like it scattered razors across my skin.

Just as quickly, the dark, frozen world disappeared, leaving me back on the beach with a warm, salt-scented breeze and mauve-colored shades of dawn starting to paint the horizon. Still, I felt stiff from more than the cold that seemed to linger on the air. That hazy, alternate version of this area wasn’t a full-on sen­sory hallucination, although all of my former doctors would’ve sworn otherwise. Instead, it was a glimpse of a realm that hov­ered right over this one.

Physicists call it M theory—the idea that different dimen­sional layers existed next to each other. I called it a shitload of trouble, because that sunless, icy world was a demon realm. My lineage gave me the ability to catch glimpses of these deadly realms, but for some reason, I hadn’t spotted this one before. If I’d known that a demon realm existed right on top of this place, I would’ve never walked this beach at all, let alone by myself before the sun was fully up.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway is sponsored by the tour host and Stuck In Books is not responsible for selecting the winner or delivering the prize.